In my familyâ€™s cooking mythology, there is no question that my motherâ€™s crespelle rank high in the pecking order.

What are these crespelle I speak of, you ask?

Gather round, and I shall tell you a story.

Like most of the young women in her family, my mother was raised on the simple yet robust food of Southern Italy (Calabria to be exact). Call it rustic or simple if you like, she grew up eating and cooking with lots of tomatoes, lots of garlic, lots of pasta, lots of beans, lots of meatballs and lots of soup. Was it fancy? No. Was it good? Si!

When my mother married my father in 1972, she brought with her the repertoire that she had inherited. But as the years went by, she expanded that repertoire with an impressive array of foods from a region far removed from Calabria: Le Marche.

And of all the dishes that my mother learned from my fatherâ€™s side of the family, there are few as dear to me as crespelle.

Crespelle is the Italian word for crepes, which in a very broad way defines what this dish is. I caution you, though, that as with so many other Italian dishes, crespelle can refer to a dish prepared in numerous different ways, depending on what region, province, city or town in Italy that you happen to be consulting.

But in my fatherâ€™s family, which hails from Ascoli Piceno in Le Marche, crespelle are thick crepes stacked high and then soaked in chicken broth. The layers of crepes are lined with the incredibly savoury Pecorino commonly made in the hills around Ascoli Piceno.

Allow me to deconstruct.

This dish begins with crespelle, or crepes, which are slightly thicker than the more typical crepes associated with French desserts like CrÃªpes Suzette. The crespelle batter is made with flour, water and a large quantity of eggs (more eggs than you would use in a recipe for French-style crepes). The result is a slightly thicker crepe that has more of an eggy bite to it.

The thicker crepe is a perfect vessel for the layer of sharp cheese and black pepper sandwiched in between the crespelle. Ideally, my mother would use the sheepâ€™s milk cheese made in the hills where my father’s town is. We’re sometimes lucky enough to be in possesion of some of this cheese thanks to a trip to Italy and a loving relative who has procured some for us. But if we donâ€™t have any, then my mother uses Parmigiano Reggiano.

I often ask myself what the key ingredient of this dish is; is it the crespelle or the broth? Tough call. What I do know is that once youâ€™ve gone to the trouble of making the crespelle and grating the cheese, you must finish the dish with the best homemade chicken broth you can create.

And it must be homemade.

You can try using store-bought chicken stock but trust me, it wonâ€™t be the same.

Once you have all your elements in place, you carefully stack your crespelle, christening each layer with a few spoonfuls of cheese with a bit of black pepper (the ideal is stacks of 15 crespelle) and then you christen your creation with ladles of soul-sustaining broth. And then, you cover.

You cover your creation to allow the crespelle and the broth and the cheese to marry and steep and join in a relationship that results in one of the most elegant and delicious first courses you can imagine.

For me, crespelle are a special occasion dish, which is funny in that looked at separately, thereâ€™s nothing really special about the elements. Crepes are just flour, water and egg. The cheese is just that, the cheese. And the broth, well, how many times have we had homemade broth?!

But together, they form a dish that is the trigger for so many happy memories of special meals. But more than that, to me, there is no dish that represents more the legacy that my mother has created in her kitchen.

Ciao!

My Mother’s CrespelleTreasured Family Recipe.

For the crespelle (yields 30 crepes that are roughly 6 inches in diameter):

In a large bowl, mix the flour and water until you have a thick paste. Add the eggs, a few at a time, until they are all incorporated. This requires some elbow grease as you must ensure that there are no lumps in the batter. Once combined, allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes.

Once the batter has rested, heat your pan on high heat. We use two or three small frying pans to help the process go quickly. Our pans yield 6-inch crepes.

Place a tablecloth on your table and then place a few layers of parchment paper on top of the tablecloth. The cooked crepes will rest on the parchment while they cool.

Once the pans are heated, wipe them quickly with a paper towel that has been dipped in some vegetable oil.

Lower the heat to medium-high and pour approximately a 1/4 cup of batter into the pan (this is for a 6-inch crepe).

Cook the crepes for about 2 minutes on each side. The crepes are cooked when they are golden in colour and flip easily. Flip them once only. If you flip them too many times they will dry out too much.

Place the cooked crepes on the parchment paper and let cool completely.

Assembling the crespelle:

2 cups Parmigiano Romano (if you can get a hold of some good quality Pecorino cheese, you can also use that)
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
6 to 8 cups of hot chicken broth (preferably homemade)
You will need a round container with a lid (we like to use a 2 Litre Corning Ware pot)

Combine the cheese and black pepper.

Place a crepe at the bottom of your container. Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of the cheese mixture over the crepe.

Top with a second crepe and another spoonful of cheese. Continue layering the crepes and cheese until you have a stack of 15 crespelle (do not put cheese on the top layer). While you can create stacks of more more than 15 crespelle, the ideal height is 15.

With a sharp knife, cut the crepe stack into four segments.

About 15 to 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve the crespelle, finish the dish by pouring the hot broth over the crespelle. The broth should cover the top layer so depending on the size of your container you may need anywhere from 6 to 8 cups of broth.

When pouring the broth over the crespelle, do so carefully to ensure that you maintain the layered wedge.

Sprinkle any remaining cheese on top of the crespelle and immediately cover the crespelle and let sit for 10 minutes.

Serve the crespelle in a soup plate by scooping up a wedge per person. Add some broth to the bottom of the plate for an elegant finish.

Well, Ivonne I know right away when it says treasured family recipe I need to pay attention and this is really a beauty. Reading this I can see this is one of those “simple” home dishes that goes way beyond those words and is anything but simple in it’s depth. What joy to have the memories that go with this. Divine.
Someday I’ll get to enjoy this.

Now, that’s another new recipe learnt…nothing better than family recipes

Michelle B

How can something so plain and simple be so inspiring? Poring over your words and photos, I am filled with the desire to focus on a few ‘top’ ingredients and make something as substantial and glorious as this recipe. For me, that is the triumph of regional cuisine–using what the natives know and love best in a novel yet nutritious and delicious (and usually economical) way.

Mmmm, this looks and sounds so good! I’m going to have to try it soon! Thanks for sharing!

Sam

Hello have been looking for your site where i can write to you. Weel i have a request. i know you started the daring bakers and i closely watch it. The major favour i am looking for is a simple basic Eggless cake recipe. I have tried a few but they come out dry. i have good eggless chocolate and fruit cake recipes. but i am more looking for a yellow or a white basic cake recipe. i would be grateful if you have a tried and tested or if you would have a daring baker episode for eggless cakes..( not chocolate or fruit ). i would be greatful. i have tried most of the eggless cake recipes online

Ivonne, that looks and sounds amazing. We use virtually the same recipe to make crespelle, but my mother, a Napolitan, used them for manicotti. I will have to try this recipe soon. I can imagine how wonderful they must taste after they’ve “steeped” in the broth and cheese a while. Isn’t it true that the most simple dishes are the ones most dearly associated with family and good memories.

We do something similar with our crespelle. The cheese and pepper is placed into the center of the crespelle. It’s then rolled into a log and cut into small rounds. These are served in the chicken broth…sort of like a pasta for soup. They tend to open up as they steep in the soup and the mixture of cheese, pepper and chicken broth is awesome. I like your idea of layer them. I’ll have to give that a try sometime.

The title of you post really caught my attention because of the word crespelle. We have these doughnut like things, that we fry up, some stuffed with an anchovy and some sweet with sugar and cinnamon. There is great debate in my family about whether the dough has mashed potato in it. Anyway, I went searching on the internet last year. Some people call them raspele and some call them crespelle. But yours make sense cause it is like a crepe. One of these day sI will find the true recipe for “raspelle”.

These look and sound amazing. I cannot wait to try them. Yum! Thanks for sharing!
Tania

Adrienne

Hello, I am making this for dinner tonight. I added a shredded roasted chicken, carrots and celery fora complete meal. I will let you know how my guys like it. Thanks for a great idea.

Adrienne

Everyone loved it. It is cold here and we ate it in front of a snapping crackling fire. The only problem that I had was I had to use a larger pan. The pile of crepes slid over and tilted. I had a similar problem when I made a crepe cake. Anyway the boys loved it. Thanks for sharing.

Lynn in Tucson

Thank you for sharing your family recipe! I have one particular family recipe that makes me think of all the women in my family who I’ve watched make it over the years. Don’t you love all the things you think about as your prepare these treasured dishes?

heathercheryl

What a wonderful story and recipe, Ivonne. I love hearing the stories and traditions behind family recipes, whether they are from my family or someone else’s.

I’d never come across crespelle before, so I shall have to make a point of trying this one very soon. Thank-you!

Mary I

My mother always made these on holidays, she used cast iron pans and greased the pans with lard. We would help her fill with cheese, then we ROLLED them, put them in a large bowl and poured homemade chicken soup over them. My mother and Aunts are no longer with us, but the recipe has been past down in our family. WE now use a crepe pan, MUCH EASIER, my daughter and my grandkids made the crespelle and we’ll be enjoying them this Xmas. They’re not only delicious, but always bring to mind GREAT memories.

Gina

Thanks so much for posting. My Nanny used to make these for us and I loved them. I haven’t had them in many years but this is definitely how we had them. Going to try to make them tonight…I’m so excited!

Christen

Thank you for this recipe! I made it with a slight variation, hopefully I didn’t bastardize it too much. I used a mandolin to slice baby bella mushrooms as thinly as they could be sliced, almost paper-thin, and layered them on top of the crispelle quickly before they set up completely in the pan, prior to flipping. I just wanted to add a little veggie in there. With rich, homemade stock and good pecorino cheese, this was fantastic! I also was a bit heavier on the pepper – I doubled it, because I like the heat and depth of flavor it adds.

This is far more comforting than mac n cheese, chili, mashed potatoes, any of the standard american comfort foods. It warms you from the inside out. Thanks again for such a great family meal!